2018-19 FSW Baseball News

A program record 12th Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneer signed at the NCAA Division I level on Monday as Bucs infielder Nathan Kinsch inked with the University of North Carolina-Charlotte to play for the 49ers next season.

Summer baseball is winding down, or has wrapped up for the 12 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers competing around the country this summer. We take one final look at how they did in today’s summer league wrap up.

We have finally reached the top moment of the 2018-19 FSW Athletics year and what a year it was! We have counted down championships, and records, and firsts and today as we get to #1, we look back at arguably the most impressive streak for any school, at any level, in collegiate sports history. Our #1 moment is the Bucs’ combined 57 game winning streak across their four sports.

Florida SouthWestern State sophomore Mikey Burke has signed his National Letter of Intent to play for one of the most historic NCAA Baseball programs in the country, the Wichita State Shockers, giving the Buccaneers 11 Division I signees from their Suncoast Conference Championship squad.

Having already touched on a number of firsts during our countdown of the top 10 moments in the 2018-19 FSW Athletic season, as we work our way to #3, we have another. Our #3 moment is the Bucs taking over the NJCAA National rankings with both Men’s Basketball and Softball finishing the regular season ranked #1, Women’s Basketball climbing into the top 10 for the first time in program history, and Baseball receiving their first national ranking in program history this year.

After just three short years of competition, three of the four FSW Athletics programs had already claimed their place atop the Suncoast Conference hierarchy, bringing home at least one conference championship in their respective sport. In year four, the fourth team joined the club, which brings us our #5 moment of the Bucs’ 2018-19 year, Baseball claiming their first Suncoast Conference title, on the last day of the regular season to boot.

2018-19 was a magical year for Florida SouthWestern Athletics in a number of ways, but the most impressive of feats was the well-roundedness of the Bucs success. Our #7 accomplishment of the year highlights just that, as all four FSW teams captured Suncoast Conference Championships and each also sported an All-American, both firsts in the Bucs young history.

The 2018-19 athletic season was a historic one for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers. The Bucs four squads each captured Suncoast Conference Championships and advanced to the FCSAA State Tournament, the only school in Florida to boast that, while FSW teams combined for a .865 overall winning percentage, easily the top mark in the Sunshine State and likely the highest nationwide.

Along with a historic year on the diamonds and the courts at Florida SouthWestern State this season, 38 Buccaneer student-athletes doubled down with excellent years in the classroom, earning Suncoast Conference, FCSAA, and NJCAA Academic Awards for the 2018-19 school year.

Spread out across six different leagues around the country, 12 Florida SouthWestern State baseball players are sharpening their skills this summer. We will check in on the Buccaneers playing summer ball throughout their seasons with today being our first look.

Two more Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have inked NCAA Division I Letters of Intent recently as pitcher Rafael Santos will remain in the Sunshine State and head to the University of North Florida while slugger Tyler Solomon will play at William & Mary in Virginia next season.

With the 346th pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, the Houston Astros have made Florida SouthWestern State righthander Ryan Gusto the highest Buccaneer draft pick since the program’s resurgence in 2016. Gusto was the 2017 World Series Champion’s 11th round choice.

For the first time in program history, Florida SouthWestern State has two Major League Baseball draft picks in the same year as in the 38th round on Wednesday, Buc freshman Marc Davis was selected by the Chicago Cubs, following up Ryan Gusto's selection in the 11th round by the Houston Astros.

For the first time in program history, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have an NJCAA All-American as Tuesday, ace Ryan Gusto was named a Second Team All-American by the association after a season in which he was named both the Suncoast Conference and FCSAA Pitcher of the Year.

The list of Division I signees for the Florida SouthWestern State baseball team continues to grow as Nate Madej (South Alabama), Shamir Morales (Bethune-Cookman), and Josh McAllister (Georgia) will all play at the top level of NCAA Baseball next season as announced recently.

Following a two year run close to home on the Gulf Coast at Florida SouthWestern State College, Buccaneer righthander Joey Mugavero will make the trip across Alligator Alley to play on the East side of the state at Florida Atlantic University the next two seasons after signing with the Owls on Thursday.

After not garnering a single national ranking in their first three years of existence, the Florida SouthWestern State Baseball team made up for lost time this season, closing 2019 ranked #18, wrapping up an 11 week stretch of being ranked in every poll of the 2019 regular season.

The #11 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers worked themselves into a hole they couldn’t get out of Saturday afternoon at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland and therefore saw their season come to an end at the 2019 FCSAA State Tournament. FSW fell behind 8-0 after two innings against Miami Dade and battled back valiantly, putting the tying run on base late in the game, but it wasn’t meant to be as they fell 14-11 to end the best season in school history at 40-14.

Playing in their first FCSAA State Tournament in program history, the #11 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers could never get their bats going Friday afternoon, managing just two hits in a 2-1 loss to Santa Fe to fall to the tournament’s elimination bracket Saturday.

On the heels of their first Suncoast Conference Championship in program history, seven Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers were honored by the conference in the release of their 2019 All-Conference squads. Leading the way was Ryan Gusto who was named the Pitcher of the Year, Shamir Morales who was the Defensive Player of the Year and Coach Ben Bizier who was named Coach of the Year.

After wrapping up their first Suncoast Conference Championship in program history on Wednesday, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers wrapped up the regular season ranked #11 in the NJCAA as announced by the National Office on Tuesday.

For the first time in history, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers are Suncoast Conference Champions. The Bucs made history on Wednesday, battling back from an early deficit to beat Polk State 8-5 in their final game of the regular season, winning their 40th game and locking up their first conference title in the process.

Riding a hot streak down the stretch of the 2019 regular season, Florida SouthWestern State sophomore Mitch Myers has been named the FCSAA/Region VIII Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the season.

Recording multiple hits in all three games for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers last week, sophomore Victor Florentino has been named the FCSAA/Region VIII Player of the Week for the second time this month as announced by the state on Tuesday.

With a 10-3 win over Polk State Monday night at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, the #13 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have punched their first ticket to the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament next week and have clinched at least a share of their first Suncoast Conference Championship in the process.

In sports, all coaches ask is for players to be ready when their number is called. Jesse Ferreira was just that Saturday afternoon for the #13 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, as he was called upon to pitch out of the bullpen for just the second time this season and rose to the occasion, throwing four shutout innings, striking out seven to allow the Bucs to come away with a key 7-3 win over Polk State to move to within two victories of their first conference title in program history.